Life of Ahmad — Page 405
as LITERARY MIRACLE 405 Amritsar), and asked Muhammad Husain in a leaflet to accept his challenge to produce the like of the book by 25-7-94 89 and promised him a reward. He was prepared to send the money (Rs. 27) in advance if he so liked. 90 This is not the place to assess the true value Referring to the dissensions which broke out among the early Muslims, Ahmad as wrote: 'All dissensions are not based upon evil motives as supposed by some ignorant people. On the other hand, many dissensions occur through differences of opinion. So the right way and the proper course for us is to say that the cause of dissensions among some of the Companions, who were the best of men lay in the exercise of discretion and not in any wrongdoings and evils. Those who have to exercise their discretion are excusable even if they be at fault sometimes. And of a certainty, enmity and malice find their way into the hearts of the virtuous ones when there are dissensions among them, even the highly righteous and pure people are not wholly free from them; and in it are purposes of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds'. He spoke very highly of Ali ra , towards whom he also felt a personal attachment on account of a vision which he had seen. But if the Shias insisted, he said, in holding that the first three Caliphs of Islam were wrongdoers and usurpers, he must point out that Ali ra too, according to their beliefs, proved himself unworthy of the trust placed in him because he owed allegiance to them whole heartedly and cheerfully submitted to their dictates. He acknowledged them as true Caliphs and prayed behind them five times every day and helped them in every respect. As a true Muslim Ali ra could never do so if there was anything un-Islamic about the first three Caliphs. Then Ahmad as explained his own mission and said that Jesus as was dead and so was the Imam of the Shias whose advent they awaited. He was the Imam of the age, God had sent him. 89 On August 14th, 1894, Maulaw i Abdul Kar i m ra wrote a letter to Maulaw i Abdur Ra h m a n Lakhooke saying, in answer to his postcard, that there was no limit to the period in which he could produce a book in opposition to Sirrul Khil a fah. 90 In the same way he had written another booklet entitled Itm a mul H ujjah (printed in 1311 A. H. at the Gulz a r-e-Muhammadi Press, Lahore) in Arabic in answer to Maulaw i Rusul Baba of Amritsar who had issued a challenge to Ahmad as in his pamphlet H iy a tul Mas ih. Ahmad as accepted his